Buffalo Nickel - Background

Background

In 1883, the Liberty Head nickel was issued, featuring designs by Mint Engraver Charles E. Barber. After the coin was released, it was modified to add the word "CENTS" to the reverse because the similarity in size with the half eagle allowed criminals to gild the new nickels and pass them as five dollar coins. An Act of Congress, passed into law on September 26, 1890 required that coinage designs not be changed until they had been in use 25 years, unless Congress authorized the change. The act made the current five-cent piece and silver dollar exceptions to the twenty-five year rule; they were made eligible for immediate redesign. However, the Mint continued to strike the Liberty Head nickel in large numbers through the first decade of the 20th century.

President Theodore Roosevelt in 1904 expressed his dissatisfaction with the artistic state of the American coinage, and hoped to hire sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens to redesign all the coins. Constrained by the 1890 act, the Mint only hired Saint-Gaudens to redesign the cent and the four gold pieces. Saint-Gaudens, before his 1907 death, designed the eagle and double eagle, which entered circulation that year; the cent, quarter eagle, and half eagle were designed by other artists and released into circulation by 1909. By that time, the Liberty Head nickel had been in circulation for more than 25 years, and was eligible for redesign regardless of the special provision. In 1909, Mint Director Frank Leach instructed Barber to make pattern coins for new nickels. Most of these coins featured the first president, George Washington. The press found out about the pieces, and speculated they would be released into circulation by the end of the year. The Mint received orders from banks in anticipation of the "Washington nickel". However, the project was discontinued when Leach left office on November 1, 1909, to be replaced by Abram Andrew.

Andrew was dissatisfied with the just-issued Lincoln cent, and considered seeking congressional authorization to replace the cent with a design by sculptor James Earle Fraser. While the change in the cent did not occur, according to numismatic historian Roger Burdette, "Fraser's enthusiasm eventually led to adoption of the Buffalo nickel in December 1912".